"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is[eman]' is"

Years from now, when we look back on John McCain's failed run for the presidency, its defining moment may well be McCain's rationalization to the press at a Toledo press conference about why he wasn't lying, but that the New York Times was:

"It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is[eman]' is. If the--if he--if 'is[eman]' means is[eman] and never has been-a-man, that is not--that is one thing. If it means there is none, that was a completely true statement....Now, if someone had asked me on that day, are you having any kind of sexual relations with Ms. Iseman, that is, asked me a question in the present tense, I would have said no. And it would have been completely true."

Mediawingnuts thinketh that he doth protesteth too much! A full-blown press conference? Hiring Bob Bennett? Bringing his second wife--not necessarily his first dalliance--onto the stage to defend him? Something about all of this doesn't quite compute.